


Unreasonable behavior

by Dragon_wolf



Category: Doctor Who & Related Fandoms, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: AU, Gen, Wingfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-14
Updated: 2020-09-14
Packaged: 2021-03-06 19:54:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,457
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26460724
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dragon_wolf/pseuds/Dragon_wolf
Summary: "So you've got great big wings you've been hiding the entire time i've known you""That's the gist of it"
Comments: 1
Kudos: 24





	Unreasonable behavior

**Author's Note:**

> I suck at summaries my dudes.   
> Wanted to do something else with this au and, well, it got just a tiny bit out of hand.   
> Enjoy!

She was fairly certain she was going to die. 

She really didn't see a way out of the situation they were in. Both Donna and the Doctor were trapped and they were going to die. 

The wind whipped at their clothes violently as both of them tried their darndest to cling to the vertical cliff. The small ledge, a truly tiny piece of rock, was determinately crumbling under their shoes and Donna was quite certain that it would break completely within the next couple of minutes. Above them, out of reach, on top of the cliff, the natives of this planet exchanged triumphant shouts. 

These were reptilian people, striking a resemblance to upright crocodiles and just as predatory. Apparently they had the habit of hunting any newcomers for sport. 

Unpleasant to find out by experience. 

They were the ones to corner them on this cliff. Which, almost predictably, broke (Donna would chuckle at the cliche if she wasn't fighting to stay on a tiny ledge over a very steep and long fall to the ground below) sending them both falling. 

How they were able to get on this particular ledge she wasn't sure, but she could see the Doctor looking around with increased frantic energy and it gave her the feeling that they were truly, finally, doomed. 

"This is it, isn't it?“ she muttered to herself "We're gonna die!"

There wasn't a way out. The wall they were pressing themselves to was completely vertical, the cliff itself too far up and out of reach and filled with murderous crocodile men and, as a bonus, the rock that made up the cliff face would crumble under their clawing fingers, taking the possibility of climbing out. 

The ledge they were standing on was small and didn't continue in either direction. 

Everywhere around them was vertical crumbling rock and the only way off was down, and down was so frighteningly far. 

The Doctor didn't answer her. He was looking more and more exasperated by the second and she could understand even he didn't have a way out for them. This was it. She caught him by a sleeve and held on in a vice grip. 

"We're gonna... " She stammered, her body shaking "we're gonna... " 

Her voice didn't want to cooperate as the panic rose and rose, coherent words leaving her. A few small pebbles made their way out from under her shoe, falling noisily down the cliff face. 

"It's gonna be alright" the Doctor murmured, thought to her it didn't sound too reassuring. More rock freed itself from the onslaught of gravity and fell. 

Donna could feel her foot slipping and made a step to rebalance herself but there wasn't anywhere she could actually step. 

She threw her arms around the Doctor and Clung onto him like a lifeline. The one part of her that wasn't screaming at her that she was going to die hoped against all hope that he could get them out of there, as futile a hope as that was. She held on tightly, pressing her face into his shoulder and sobbing quiet hopeless tears. 

She felt his arms on her back. He held her tightly and murmured something vaguely encouraging into her shoulder. 

The rock crumbled away under their feet and Donna could feel them both finally slipping off the edge. 

And that was it. There was no more hope for them. Anticlimactic if you think about it. Defeated by a simple fall, on a simple planet, being just unfortunate enough to get there by circumstances. 

What sad way to go for them. 

Donna felt the wind whip sharply past her and wrenched her eyes shut. She felt almost weightless, falling and falling and she held onto her friend tight, not able to afford letting him go for a second before it would all end. She waited, almost frozen in time, for the unforgiving ground to come up and catch them for one final time. 

She didn't scream, didn't move. 

She just waited. 

And then the sharp wind wasn't there anymore. She felt the Doctor hold her tight as the weightless feeling drained away. There was a noise, like rustling leaves. She didn't dare open her eyes. 

There was a breeze now. Gentle and whispering and not at all like the violent wind before it. It played with her hair and blew past her tear stained cheek. 

She didn't feel like she was falling anymore, though they were moving. She didn't know how she could tell they were but she was certain of it. 

She heard a delighted giggle just above and over her shoulder. The hands around her and the chest she was clinging to vibrated with the noise, a small happy sound in a whirlwind of unfair and sad in her head. 

She risked opening her eyes. She shut them again. The ground was still far below them, frightening and merciless. But, as she stole another peak at it, it wasn't getting closer. Just... Staying at the same distance. 

They weren't beside the cliff anymore, it too being at some distance away now but actually growing farther. 

She looked to the Doctor, trying to see what he did. 

She didn't quite understand what she was seeing at first. 

There were two great rustling shapes just behind his back.The wind was moving along them gently, making tiny weaves in the smaller feathers. 

For a moment they moved, as if correcting themselves on the wind, a small beat for balance, then returned to being more or less stationary. 

"Doctor.. " She began tentatively, transfixed by the vision. 

"Mm yeah?" She heard his voice just above her head. He had a non committal but rather enthusiastic tone. She sighed. 

"Why do you have wings?" She blurted out before it seemed too stupid to say out loud. It didn't sound any better than in her head. 

"Oh, yeah" She heard and felt him turn his head to look at her "kinda hard to answer. I just do"

She tore her gaze away from the light brown feathers to look him in the eye. Or at least as much as she could, clinging onto him for dear life while suspended in the air. He looked pretty cheerful "what, you just have them? Like, normally?" she sputtered "these aren't... A trick of yours, or something, to get away?"

"Well they are" He began "in a way. Nifty too. But i do have them normally, yes. Part of my people's biology" He hummed 

"And where were they before?!" She didn't mean to sound exasperated but her voice flew and octave higher anyway 

"Hard to blend in on Earth with them" He stated, not concerned "Would cause some chaos and i don't usually want that. I'd much rather participate in chaos than cause it" He smiled at her, then returned his gaze forward, probably looking where they were going "so i cloak them"

"And, and-" She sputtered again "and when were you gonna tell me?! That you have bloody wings?"

He harrumphed quietly "didn't exactly come up in conversation" Which was fair. No subtle way of saying 'hey, guess what i can do'. Not really. 

There was a beat of silence, filled only with the sound of rustling feathers and gentle whispers of wind. She looked around. They seemed to be doing slow gliding circles. She couldn't help looking down. The ground was still so far away it made her shudder.

"Where are we going?" She asked. 

"Oh, down i think. Should land in the forest down there" He hummed "see if we can find our way back from there"

"I really don't want to meet with those guys again" She murmured. 

"They wouldn't appreciate having their prey duck out like this" He agreed "so, seconded on the not wanting to meet them again"

"What's their problem anyway?" She muttered "we didn't even do anything, they just went at us for no reason"

"I'd assume it's their culture" He responded "no one outside the community is to be trusted and also hey, let's shoot some darts at them, since they're a danger anyway"

"So shoot anyone on sight" She sighed, mildly angrily "great"

There was a small silence again. Donna noticed they were getting lower and lower down the cliff with each circle they made, so he was doing that slow gliding spiral thing she'd seen birds do sometimes. 

"I’m gonna get us down faster but it’s going to be a bit jarring for you" she heard him say "I promise it’s gonna be fine though. Please don’t panic"

"Ok" she gave a small nod, trying not to move too much and holding onto him just a tad bit tighter.

"Brace yourself" was her warning and then things changed. It wasn’t as sudden as she had expected, but it was rather fast.

The wind was back, violent as ever, whistling in her ears and tossing her hair, making it wave like a fiery flag about her head. She felt almost like she was falling again, the weightlessness was back, but somehow it felt different. A look at the ground confirmed that it was getting closer at a considerable speed and she forced herself to look away as some of her fear returned rapidly. She focused on looking directly ahead, which so happened to be over the Doctor’s shoulder.

His wings were partly folded, in a shape she’d seen birds of prey take when doing a nosedive. That’s what he was doing, gotcha.

For just a moment she couldn’t believe it. That she was actually there. In the air, high above ground, partially upside down, being held and carried by an alien who, it turns out, had wings this entire time and was currently in the middle of a nosedive.

Unbelievable.

She felt herself giggle slightly, out of delight or the ridiculousness of it all she didn’t know, though the sound was covered by the wind wooshing past her ears. A moment later she felt the man himself do the same.

After a few more seconds she saw the wings unfold again and level out. They slowed to a glide again and another glance downward revealed that they were just above the treeline. 

They glided gently to the ground, the Doctor carefully picking his way between trees. It was quiet, nothing in the forest around them moving, and she could feel the gravity change a bit as they came in to land - the Doctor was righting himself before setting down on the ground. 

His wings beat more actively, creating a slight wind, as they hovered just above the ground for a few moments and then Donna felt a tiny jolt as he came down to stand on the ground. Her own legs touched down a moment after, softer, as if set down carefully. 

The wind ceased and for a few moments nothing moved. She could feel the hands around her, having been holding her tight the entire flight, gingerly peel away. Tentatively she did the same, feeling her arms ache dully. 

For a few moments she just breathed, starting into nothing. 

Then she laughed. 

It was a real, joyful sound and she could hear the Doctor second it and when she looked up it was like the whole of the last few hours didn't happen. They were just here, laughing hard enough to have to catch their breath as if nothing vaguely traumatic, like being shot at and almost falling to their deaths from way too high up, was just a few dozen minutes ago. 

But that's how it usually went thought. Except for the wings part. 

They were still there, two great shapes just behind the Doctor's back, folded now and only just showing above his shoulders.

"Woof, you could warn me next time, you know" She said, out of breath and without any sting in her words "that we aren't going to die i mean. That you've got a plan?"

"I was in a hurry" He shrugged uselessly "it was a lot to explain"

"Yeah, still haven't gotten past that point" She tutted "so you've got great big wings you've been hiding the entire time i've known you" She hummed

"That's the gist of it"

"How does this conversation usually go?" She was curious "can't imagine a very good segway into the topic"

"It usually goes as well as it's going now" He rubbed the back of his head and turned his gaze to the side "which isn't spectacular but not bad either"

"Do you need some sort of special clothes for those? Are there shops for winged people somewhere that offer jackets with holes in the back?"

"What?" He narrowed his eyes at her but didn't answer

"Just asking" She said lightly, then frowned a bit "wait, wouldn't i have seen the holes in the jacket then? There weren't any last time i saw it, i think i would notice"

"It's all cloaked" He stated "it's made to look normal and to make sense, so no, you wouldn't have seen anything out of the usual to you" He shrugged again "works on most people i've met, no complaints so far. Sorry you had to find out like this"

They both glanced up at the cliff they were on and then off just a little time ago. Donna felt a chill.

"Good thing you're such a freak of nature" She commented lightly "otherwise i dunno what we would have done"

He just hummed noncommittally at this "Good thing, yeah" he was looking around now, eyes scanning the thick forest they landed in. It was very reminiscent of practically any Earth forest, from just a glance you wouldn’t be able to tell the difference. There wasn’t any wildlife around, probably for the best, but just the various trees stretched in every direction, looking the same in them all.

He turned in a slow circle as he surveyed the surroundings, as if analyzing just which way they should go and that’s when she got a propper view of his wings. They were dusty brown with light patterning of horizontal lines and spots near the base, where the feathers were the smallest and more resembled fur or fluff. The bigger feathers at the tips of the wings slowly transitioned into a darker brown, now glinting dully in the sun. They were folded neatly at the moment but their shape was long, perfect for soaring, almost close to what seagulls had going but not quite. Somewhat wider. Maybe a little rounder.

They weren’t exactly like wings of any bird she’d seen. Then again, she didn’t claim to be an expert. Never dreamed of it in fact.

She hummed to herself a moment, taking in the delightful weirdness of it all. They were neat, pretty almost, and they suited him oddly well. Like they belonged there on his back, completing the full picture. And, well, they did belong there, after all. 

She smiled slightly, almost unawarely.

“Alrighty” he broke the small silence completing his survey of the land “I think we should head in the vague direction from whence we came”

“I think that’s a good idea” she agreed “though won’t there be those crocodile people there?”

“There’s a chance” he shrugged “but they could be anywhere here, it’s their territory. It’s as good a direction as any to go” he paused for a second, then spoke again “and they’re called Glacites, by the way”

“Good to know” She huffed lightly, starting to walk alongside him into the direction where she hoped the Tardis was. She couldn’t be sure but the god forsaken cliff looming between the trees every once in a while was a good indication that they were at least vaguely correct.

The woods were quiet still. There was some slight rusting of leaves above their head, slight movement of the grass and branches under their feet, but nothing else. No birdsong, no shuffling of critters or bugs. Nothing.

“So are you like part bird or what” she broke the silence and immediately felt like she was being rude and/or mildly stupid. She was curious and didn’t have the current capacity to word things very good. She’d blame those crocodile people, glass-whatever-they-were.

She heard him splutter at that for a second before recovering “No? I mean, there are systems adapted to flight that resemble avian but that’s just cuz that’s what works” he explained, sounding almost afronted but not quite cross “Respiratory system, cardiovascular system, that sorta thing. Not that they’re exactly the same, mind you, not with earth birds anyway, what with every other system going on-”

“Ok” she cut across his rambling, that was increasing in speed “Got it, not a bird, sorry i asked” then, after a beat of silence “that was rude, wasn’t it” it wasn’t a question

“It’s ok” he assured “you’re curious, it’s a totally normal reaction. I’ve heard worse”

“Like what?”

“Oh, the usual. What comes to mind when you think about a winged human?” he prompted

She thought about it for a second “Angels” she hummed “uh, huh” she wasn’t really sure what to think about that.

“Yeahhh, quite embarrassing if i’m honest. It’s all fun and games till someone tries to use you to prove a point you have nothing to do with”

“yeah” she seconded “can’t imagine” actually she kinda could. Some poor mistaken priests seeing something like that would only be more convinced in whatever he was preaching huh.

They have been walking for a while, with no end in sight, when there was a sharp noise. Like a small tree branch snapping, except it wasn’t coming from either of them. Donna stopped in her tracks and saw the Doctor do the same at her shoulder. Her eyes darted to where the sound came from and initially she saw nothing there.

Then she locked eyes with something. They were two great yellow shapes, with thin slit pupils, set in an elongated scaly face. It was a snake, she realised with rising horror, a giant, basically man sized if not bigger, snake, staring at them from behind a tree. With great difficulty she stifled a scream and felt her hand slowly reach out for the Doctor, moving with painful carefulness, as she was convinced a single sudden move would trigger the beast to attack. The thing watched them, with something like curiosity glinting in it’s big reptilian eyes.

For a few moments nothing happened. Then the creature spoke.

“Forgive me for ssstartling you” it had a low, hissing voice, much like one would expect from a snake, if you expected one to speak “i asssssure you i mean you no harm” it sounded apologetic, but there was something else she couldn’t quite get. The expression was hard to read on the scaly reptilian face.

She forced herself to hear sounds other than her heart beating frantically in her ears but couldn’t quite trust herself not to scream if she tried to speak. Thankfully she didn’t have to.

“Oh, hello!” she heard the Doctor say, cheerfully and nonchalantly “It is quite alright, we’re fine! I’m the Doctor, this is Donna” he gestured at them both in turn “who would you be?” 

The snake creature - person, they were a person - moved from behind the tree tentatively and it became increasingly obvious they weren’t just an overgrown snake. They were a snake, yes, but one with long, delicate limbs, their hands clasped nervously, small sharp claws glinting in sunlight. Their body wasn’t humanoid, the part between their top and bottom limbs being long and flexible and, well, snake like. Their tail dragged on the forest floor.

They were kinda like those eastern dragons which had long weaving bodies with their paws quite far away and independent from each other, except this person had smooth scaly skin with no spikes at all. The scales held a dusty green colour that was raked with a neon blue pattern of stripes and spots.

Donna’s alarm had faded somewhat now. The newcomer seemed just as anxious as she was, possibly just as scared, despite their predatory appearance. 

“I’m sssorry for ssscaring you” they began again “I’m Rha’sha, we’ve been hiding in this foressst for sssome time”

“It’s alright” Donna said at last “were you hiding from those crocodile people too?”

“Glacites” the Doctor corrected her without much thought “we? how many of you are around here?”

“Just me and my ssssweetheart, Mhi’ra” said Rha’sha, their face not changing much, but something like a smile in their voice “Sshe’s just up ahead, i went to sssee who was coming when we heard you” 

“I see” the Doctor said

“How come you’re stuck here then?” Donna enquired. She could see the Doctor nodding at the question, it having most likely crossed his mind too. 

“We didn't know this planet wasss hosstile" The snake answered "We came here for a holiday and our transport wasss damaged. We hid from the localssss here after we sssent a distressss call but sssso far no one hassss come"

"Oh!" The Doctor exclaimed "That'd be us then! We came here because we intercepted a distress signal, i’m assuming yours"

Donna realized that she completely forgot what they came here for in the first place in all the confusion. She felt momentarily bad for wanting to just leave as soon as possible. "It's lucky that we happened upon each other then" She said, sighing. 

“Very lucky indeed” the Doctor agreed, sounding delighted.

“I’m very happy that sssomeone’ss come for usss” Rha’sha sounded genuinely pleased at the news, though their expression still didn’t change much “We’d better find Mhi’ra then” they fidgeted with their hands, their clawed feet shuffling nervously on the forest floor. 

“Lead the way, Rha’sha” the Doctor suggested and the snake turned tentatively and slithered into the forest. 

Donna and the Doctor followed at a little distance, careful of the long winding tail of the snake being, that dragged almost soundlessly over the branches and leaves. “what’s up with the snake people then?” Donna asked in a hushed tone

“They’re Fervini, their homeworld is covered in rainforests. They live in trees, have whole cities there. Quite advanced but can’t emote too well, not to the rest of the universe” he murmured excitedly “they don’t usually travel this far from their home, our friend and her sweetheart must be quite the adventurers in the eyes of their people.”

“Huh. Unfortunate that they happened upon this rock.” Donna hummed at that

“Good thing we’re here then” he grinned and she smiled back briefly before looking back where they were going “they’re a peaceful race but quite good fighters if the need arises. They can hold their own against the Glacites for a while but without a way off this world it’s hopeless”

She didn’t get to respond as Rha’sha drew to a halt, her tail winding itself into coils behind her. She glanced back at them briefly and then gingerly stepped through a small opening in the bushes. The opening, as they found out stepping through it themselves, led to a small clearing, shielded from the rest of the forest by tall bushes and low hanging branches of trees. 

On the ground lay another of the snake people, another Fervini, curled tightly in on herself as if sleeping. Her skin was a more vibrant green than Rha’sha’s, mottled with neon blue spots. At their appearance she uncurled slightly, raising her head wearily. Her eyes were the same bright yellow as her partner’s but they seemed duller somehow. Tired. 

“Mhi’ra, it’sss ok, they’re here to help” Rha’sha chimed in, moving gently to crouch (if it could be called that) at her sweetheart’s side. She pet her side and Mhi’ra leaned into the touch somewhat “Thisss isss the Doctor and Donna, they got our distresss call. It’sss ok, sssweetheart” 

Mhi'ra gave a small hiss and uncurled more revealing her limbs, same delicate and thin reptilian claws, except one of them wasn't the same. There was an ugly red gash in her leg, tied over with something like cloth but still oozing red, just a bit. The leg itself looked twisted unnaturally, which just added to the grizzly effect. 

“You’re hurt” said Donna dully. It must’ve hurt a lot “did the.. the Glacites do this to you?”

“...yessss” Mhi’ra hissed quietly. Her features were still the same, not many emotions showing on her face but the pain apparent in her voice “didn’t move away in time. Sssstupid branch got in the way” she made a gentle repetitive breathy hiss that might’ve been a laugh. It lacked any mirth though. Her partner looked at her mournfully and gave a tiny laugh of her own.

“We need to move” the Doctor said “you think you can carry her, Rha’sha? It’s a bit far from here but we have a transport of our own”

“Of Course” Rha’sha hissed and leant down to Mhi’ra and reached her hands at her sides “come here, love”

It was an odd sight, but sweet. Mhi'ra wove herself around her sweetheart holding onto her neck. Rha'sha held her close, gentle and soft and, well, sweet. 

"Lead the way" Rha'sha hissed gently at the Doctor and Donna "try to get some rest, love" She addressed her partner. 

"Aight, no time to waste" The Doctor exclaimed lightly. He waved Donna to follow him and went to step out of the clearing. She did so, hurriedly, and the Fervini couple followed them.

“It’s gonna be alright” Donna hummed at the snake women, trying to sound encouraging. She was walking side by side with them, with the Doctor leading the way ahead. Rha’sha nodded at the words, though whether or not the encouragement worked Donna couldn’t tell. 

The day was growing old and the sun was low in the sky, casting long jagged shadows onto the ground, yet they were still walking. Donna could feel the excitement of the day weighing on her like a bag of bricks. She longed for it all to be over. 

"Do you even know where we're going?" She asked the Doctor, to which he gave an amused laugh "seriously, how far away could we be now? I feel like we've been walking half a day"

"Not far now, i promise" He grinned at her in that infuriating way of his that made you smile back. He glanced over his shoulder at the Fervini "let's hope for the sake of our new cold blooded friends that i'm not wrong on this" He murmured. 

She sighed. They were out of the forest now, on more flat ground, in a grassy field. The view, she had to be honest, was beautiful.

A wide open space populated only by tall grasses and an occasional bush and hugged on one side by a grassy hill and illuminated by the warm rays of sun. She recognized this hill as one they saw when they landed, so they really must be close to their destination now. They've left the god forsaken cliff behind now and it no longer tried to remind her of the treacherous fall that almost got them killed. Even knowing now that it was ok it made her shiver. 

Her eyes wandered to the Doctor's wings again. They were folded neatly behind his back, the longest primaries crossing at the ends. The feathers glinted gently in the sunlight making the dark parts look even darker. Funny how she got used to them already. Well, almost, for the most part used to them. 

She was snapped out of her thoughts by Rha'sha "why do you hide your wings, Donna?" She asked, a curious look in her big yellow eyes again. 

"What?"

"Your friend" The snake nodded at the Doctor a few paces in front of them "he has his out but you don't. What's different?"

"Oh, no no, i don't have any" Donna rushed to explain

"How so? You look to be the same other than that"

"Well we aren't. We're different species actually. I don't suppose you've seen many humans before, have you?"

"I've heard of them" The snake spoke "but i haven't met any before, to be honest. Is that who you are?"

"Yeah, that's it. We don't have wings."

"And your friend?"

"Oh it's a long story. I don't think it's mine to tell"

"I see" 

It was once again so quiet. No animals scurried by, no insects buzzed and as the gentle lull of the conversation died down only the gentle rustling of grass in the breeze was left. Somewhere in the distance a tall dark shape drew itself out of the flat of the field, unmoving. A tiny white light shone at the top of it and Donna let a sigh of relief escape her. A few steps in front of her the Doctor turned to them with a grin splitting his features “almost to the finish line now!” he called and hurried forward. The grass rustled more aggressively under his feet as he moved with some speed towards his ship.

Donna turned to their companions and smiled at them “we’re almost there, that box” she gestured vaguely at the distant shape of the Tardis, now a little more defined against the orange evening sky “is our ship”. Rha’sha looked like she might’ve also been smiling, at least her eyes were. She held her love tightly and moved forward with a bit more momentum now.

There was a noise, like a thud and a squawk, ahead of them that made Donna turn her gaze forward again but there wasn’t anything there. Only an empty field with a small path carved out by the Doctor and gently swaying tall grass. 

No Doctor either. The path was empty and ended part way into the field rather abruptly. Donna found herself increasing her step to a run “Doctor?” she called to him worriedly over the noise of the grass. How can grass even be that loud, there was barely a breeze here.

Then she caught glimpses of shapes moving within the grass itself, all around, making ripples as if in the sea, making the god forsaken rustling noise she was hearing. Big shapes crouched low to the ground, long white scaled snouts and dark sharp spines and small baleful eyes. The wretched crocodile men were here. She felt herself stop and one of them sailed through the air just in front of her, clawed hands poised in a predatory pounce. He disappeared into the grass on the other side of the path but she could hear him start to turn around to get another go almost immediately. She had to move before he did. 

The path ahead looked more or less safe, in that at least there weren’t any of them there and she could hear them behind her. She risked a momentary glance back and saw one of the Glacites being almost swatted away by Rha’sha. The Fervini herself looked furious, threatening, mouth open in a snake hiss and baring her fangs, which one may mistake for curved knitting needles without the context. The snow white creatures around her stayed at a distance, properly frightened by the display but not relenting. Not running away. Just prowling. 

There was noise in front of her again when she turned. There was frantic movement at the end of the pathway where the Doctor disappeared and Donna found herself jogging towards it, finding it the only way to go to get away from her own attacker, who was actively stirring and repositioning himself for another pounce at the time. She could see flurred moving shapes, tangled with each other, one darker and one lighter. There was growling and snapping coming from them too. 

One of the shapes suddenly pitched backwards, sliding into the path on it’s back with a small handful of dark brown feathers clutched in it’s claws. The other one bounced above the grass and backed off just a few steps. 

The Doctor looked ruffled and slightly wild but mostly unhurt. His wings were poised and partially open now, tense and ready for action. She really was missing out on this before huh. 

The Glacite attacking him stirred and went to get up but Donna made surprising and quick work of stopping him by kicking the crocodile on the side of his big scaly head. He cried out in surprise but then just rolled over, out cold. It'd hurt like hell when he came to but for now he was out of their hair. 

"Thanks" She heard the Doctor say breathlessly. She glanced over at him again and nodded quickly. 

For the moment nothing was coming at them so they both rushed back to help their snake friends out of their peril. Rha'sha was still holding her attackers back but they were getting closer now. 

"We just have to get the way clear!" The Doctor yelled as they ran "those two up front, if we get them out of the way we can all sprint to the Tardis"

"And how do we get them out of the way then?" She shouted back "clobber 'em and run?"

"That's the idea!" He cheered and charged forward. 

She didn't have time to say anything else as the white scaly shapes loomed just up ahead. Thankfully this one had their back to her so she just careened into them with her shoulder, earning a surprised yelp as they toppled over. She managed to stay on her feet and turned in time to see her friend knock hard into the other Glacite beside her. Somewhat surprisingly, though she would make a note to get used to it later, he was very much off the ground and once the white scaled man fell over backwards with roars of surprise he just sailed right over him, his wings stretched wide. He dodged the claws of another of their assailants, who became aware of what was happening, and, as Donna recovered from her collision and yelled at the Fervini to just book it, he flew in a neat semi-circle around them and landed on her other side. She caught his hand and they sprinted to their ship together with their companions close behind and the mildly confused but recovering attackers hot on their trail. 

It wasn't a long run all things considered but Donna found herself wishing it would be over already as something sailed past her ear with a whistle of air. She caught a glimpse of colourful feathers and a sharp metallic tip as it disappeared into the tall grass. 

"They're shooting those darts again!" She exclaimed and tried her best to increase her speed. The shape of the police box loomed just ahead if only they'd get there soon enough. She hoped to hell and heaven and whatever planet they were on that the doors weren't locked. 

There was a yowl from behind her and a couple more darts whistled past her and the Doctor and then they reached the blessed blue doors. They opened easily and they both stumbled in hurriedly, making way for the Fervini to enter. 

Rha'sha made her way into the control room in a mildly undignified manner by mostly tumbling in through the doors and quickly drawing in her tail through. Donna found herself shutting the door abruptly behind her with a loud thud and then it was over. 

She let herself slide down with her back against the door as she heaved heavy breaths. It was fine. They'd made it. They were ok now. She felt herself chuckle slightly, and saw the Doctor mirror her. 

Then Rha'sha gave a groan and failed to get up from the grating. 

There was a brightly coloured dart sticking out of her back and she was stirring uselessly. Mhi'ra was making efforts to untangle herself and help but they held limited success so far. The Doctor was already at their side when Donna got herself off the floor and as she moved to join him he gently plucked the dart out of the scaled skin and sniffed at it. 

"Knockout darts" He murmured, loud enough for them all to hear "it'll be alright, she'll sleep it off and be good as new" He said, more loudly, addressing Mhi'ra. The latter nodded and crawled out from under her unconscious sweetheart. Her leg looked awful still "Right" He continued tightly "let's get you both to the medbay and get that looked at"

The trip to the medbay proved to be difficult. Rha'sha was out cold and the Doctor had gathered her in her arms best he could but her tail still dragged on the floor while Mhi'ra wound herself over Donna's shoulders in the least distressing manner she could manage. The trip wasn't very fast but in some minutes they got there. 

The unconscious Fervini was laid in what seemed to be an extra large hospital bed to sleep it off and Mhi'ra's leg was looked at, the wound treated and the sprain set and put in a cast, and she was laid, by her insistence, in the same bed. Then they were both left alone to rest and recover. 

Donna felt her legs shake a little as she reentered the control room and realized, not for the first time that day, how tired she was and how ready she was for the day to just end. But she was happy that they managed to do what they came here for. The snake girls were quite nice from what she could see. She liked them. 

"I think this is enough excitement for today" She said aloud, exhaustedly.

"Aww" the Doctor sighed, though it wasn't as disappointed as he probably wanted to sound. He looked ruffled and she was sure he'd needed some rest as well. His wings loomed over his shoulders, just as ruffled as he was. She saw some odd feathers out of place and sticking out at odd angles. They were still pretty, in the dim lighting of the console they looked even darker, the lighter pattern only slightly standing out. 

She walked to him and tentatively pulled him into a hug. He stood still for a moment, probably surprised at the gesture,and then wrapped his hands around her frame gently. It was a softer hug then the one on the cliff, now that they weren't in danger of falling to their doom. 

"Thank you" She murmured. He didn't answer but she felt another sensation - like being covered by a throw blanket, an all around feeling of cozy fabric. There was a rustle of feathers around her and she felt a light weight on her shoulders as he wrapped his wings around her as well as his arms. 

She Was missing out on this before. Big time. This was actually really nice.

**Author's Note:**

> I have ideas for other fics in this au but whether i'll ever write them is it's own mystery :)


End file.
